The Leyte-Mindanao Bridge is a proposed bridge to connect the islands of Leyte and Mindanao in the Philippines. The project involves the construction of cable-stayed bridges connecting San Ricardo, Southern Leyte and Lipata in Surigao City.
The Leyte-Mindanao Bridge is estimated to be 23 km in length, which is long, but it’s not the longest bridge in Southeast Asia. The future Bataan–Cavite Interlink Bridge will be the longest bridge in the Philippines (32.15 km).
The bridge is one of two missing links in the Pan-Philippine Highway (the Maharlika Highway), with the other proposed bridge being the Luzon-Samar Bridge. The two bridge projects are referred to as the Luzon-Samar-Leyte-Mindanao Linkage Project.
These two bridges would enable road travel from Luzon to Mindanao without ferry travel.
[Maharlika Highway map via Wikimedia.]
A feasibility study was conducted in 2018, but the project was shelved in 2019 due to the water being too deep in the Surigao Strait.
The project was revived in 2023, with a new proposal to build roads and bridges via the Dinagat Islands. A bridge from Leyte to Dinagat would be about 28 km.
Leyte-Mindanao Bridge map
[Map of Leyte-Mindanao Bridge.]
Links and resources
Leyte-Surigao Connecting Bridge | Pro – SkyscraperCity news and discussion.
News archive
2024
FACT CHECK | Proposed Dinagat-Leyte Bridge not yet approved by Marcos administration – [15/04/24]
“MindaNews fact-checked the post of Facebook user Dinagat Islands Philippines that a bridge connecting the province of Dinagat Islands in Mindanao to Leyte in the Visayas will be constructed. It is a misleading claim as the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.”
Bridge connecting Dinagat Islands to Surigao, Visayas eyed – [11/03/24]
“The project will involve the construction of four coastal viaduct roads spanning 20.77 kilometers (km); a 3.2 km bridge from Surigao City to Nonoc Island and 1.2 km bridge from Nonoc Island to Dinagat Islands; and a 0.80-km and a 0.20-km bridges within the Dinagat Islands. A long-span bridge with a distance of 28 km will also be constructed to connect Tubajon in Dinagat to Anahawan in Leyte.”
2023
DPWH: 2 bridges to end stranding during storms – [27/11/23]
“In a bid to end the perennial problem of stranding of passengers during bad weather, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has moved forward on projects to link Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao through bridges with the help of Japanese experts.”
Pre-feasibility study for Luzon-Samar, Leyte-Mindanao Bridges to start this week – [10/11/23]
“A study team composed of bridge construction experts from the Infrastructure Development Institute (IDI) Japan and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to commence early stage assessment on the proposed long-span bridge projects that will connect the islands of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.”
DPWH rules out Visayas-Mindanao bridge as unfeasible – [10/01/23]
“The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said it is not feasible to build a bridge connecting Mindanao and Visayas because the waters at the entrance of the Surigao Strait are too deep.”
2019
FALSE: Leyte-Surigao, Samar-Sorsogon bridges to ‘start construction’ in 2020 – [26/11/19]
Duterte admin shelves 3 flagship infra projects as ‘unfeasible’ – [25/10/19]
“The Leyte to Surigao long bridge is also very deep and really just very challenging. It’s going to be very costly”.
Duterte’s bridges linking Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao shelved – [23/10/19]
“…the P47.4-billion bridge that would link Leyte and Surigao will not be pushing through as well because building it would be “too challenging.””
2018
Gov’t to build 8 bridges connecting Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao – [19/04/18]
“…20-km bridge connecting Leyte and Mindanao islands either through a long-span overhead or an underwater tunnel”.
Study on proposed Leyte-Bohol, Leyte-Surigao projects starts – [25/02/18]
“The month-long study on the proposed Leyte-Bohol and Leyte-Surigao bridge projects by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has commenced.”
2017
Gov’t needs P193.58-B to build Leyte-Surigao, Sorsogon-Samar bridges – [07/03/17]
“The Leyte-Surigao project involves the construction of cable-stayed bridges with a length of 23 kilometers connecting San Ricardo, Southern Leyte and Lipata in Surigao City, crossing the Surigao Strait.”
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